The Goonies bring rap, funk, and a painter in a banana suit to Taste of Syracuse

As a general rule, most weekends don't begin with a banana-suit-wearing man painting psychedelic art alongside two energy-exuding MC's rapping over a world class funk/blues/rock band.

For folks at the Erie Boulevard Stage at Taste of Syracuse Friday, however, that's exactly how things kicked off.

Since their founding in 2008, The Goonies have won two SAMMY awards and released two stellar albums, each exploring their refreshing take on rap in new and interesting ways. The band is comprised of two rappers, Clam Weezy (Peter Capelli) and Illumination (Langston Masingale), and a three piece live band consisting of bassist Andrew Willis, guitarist Adam Fisher, and drummer Kinyatta King.

The use of a live band quickly distinguishes The Goonies from other contemporary rap groups who tend to rely on electronic beats and samples rather than live instruments. While both styles can be used to great effect, there's something cool about seeing rap done as part of an ensemble rather than the rapper being the exclusive focus and the instrumental role being filled by an unseen producer. This is made all the better for how talented the musicians in The Goonies are, seamlessly combining the sounds of Sublime, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and a blues/funk jam band among various other styles.

Then of course there are the amazing rappers. Illumination and Clam work as a perfect duo, each playing off the other's energy to make the ultimate sound even better. Illumination's flow is killer and despite not being as fast as the likes of Tech N9ne or Twista, he has some pretty technical moments. Clam, meanwhile, adds pure energy and fun with his own unique style. Both also happen to have great clean vocals. So yeah, unfair amounts of talent here.

Nothing to see here, just a man in a banana suit, move alongDaniel Barbour

Throughout their Taste of Syracuse performance the band seethed fun and you could tell the crowd, although small, was digging it immensely. Both their party tracks, which the crowd was more than happy to chant along to, and their more introspective and thoughtful tracks had the crowd dancing and bobbing their heads. Also of note was the visual artist present, jamming along with the band while painting a psychedelic image of some sort of large fish.

No, I'm not making this up.

Ultimately the only complaint I could levy against the performance is that there weren't enough people to see it. The Goonies are truly a criminally underrated Syracuse act who have the the talent and imagination to strike it big.